Gubernatorial race about to get Jacked

Putnam competition: Republican Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam will finally be getting some gubernatorial primary competition next week. I say that with about 85 percent certainty. About a month ago, state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, pegged Aug. 16 as the date of a big announcement on his political future. Yesterday, he announced that the announcement would come in Hialeah. Latvala will make a 9 a.m. stop at a fire station there before following it up with a 1 p.m. stop in Clearwater and a 5 p.m. appearance in Panama City.

The question, then, is this -- does a politician who has hinted he's running for governor and raised a load of cash go on a three-city special announcement tour and not announce he's running for governor?

So, next week, we'll have a Republican primary in the offing. And more are potentially in the pipeline, including House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes. Unfortunately, a massive gateway to the underworld has apparently opened in his hometown:

The Associated Press's Tamara Lush reports that a massive sinkhole has already swallowed two homes and condemned five more in the town of Land O'Lakes. Not much has been written on the sinkhole effect in the 2018 gubernatorial primary. Is it a metaphor for things to come? Also, is that a boat floating in the sinkhole?

God I love Florida.

Canova calling: Law professor Tim Canova lost a Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, in 2016. He's since demanded access to ballots cast in Broward County. But Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes has been less than forthcoming with Canova's public records requests, and now, the Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man reports, Canova is taking the elections office to court.

Broken: The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board is out with an opinion piece calling for a fix to "Florida's broken system for selecting utility watchdogs." They must have a point, because referring to the Public Service Commission as a "utility watchdog" is just hilarious on its face.

"Locked and loaded": Early this morning, President Donald Trump tweeted that "military solutions" are "locked and loaded" should North Korea carry out plans to shoot missiles at Guam. The Associated Press's Eric Talmadge reports that South Korea and the U.S. will carry out joint military exercises later this month. Despite those exercises being an annual event, North Korea has called them a rehearsal for war.

"Whatever": President Donald Trump has weighed in on the FBI's raid on the home of his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, the Washington Post's John Wagner reports.

"I thought it was a very, very strong signal, or whatever," the president said.

"The opioid crisis is an emergency, and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency. It's a national emergency. We're going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis," he said.

It's hard to tell when Trump is doing something as opposed to just talking. If he is, in fact, declaring a national emergency, it will free up federal funds to go to hard-hit areas such as Palm Beach County.

"Get back to work": From his vacation in New Jersey, President Donald Trump excoriated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to "get back to work" in a tweet yesterday. The Associated Press's Julie Bykowicz and Erica Werner report the tweet comes amid Trump's suggestions that McConnell should step aside if he can't get Obamacare repeal, tax reform and other Republican priorities passed.

Circular firing squads are all the rage: The Washington Post's Paul Kane reports that centrist Democrats are pushing back against the party's move toward a Sanders-esque populist direction. The effort should come just in time to take blame for the weak election results Democrats could see in 2018 despite anti-Trump head winds. (See: Massive amount of Democratic Senate seats to defend, skewed congressional districts, etc.)

Three for three: The Miami Herald's Kyra Gurney reports that the Miami-Dade School Board has voted to sue the state over the charter school bill the Legislature passed this session. The board joins those in Broward and Palm Beach counties that have already voted to sue.

Power Lunch playlist: It's Friday, and that means a 10-song Spotify playlist dedicated to the week that was in political news the coming thermonuclear war. Enjoy: